5 Favorites: Japanese Bath Towels

Soft but not aggressively fluffy. Sized to fit in a washer and dryer with room to spare. And designed with care and subtlety. There is something just right about the best Japanese cotton bath towels.

Above: The Lana Towel by Kontex has a gauzy texture that looks like wool but is 100 percent cotton. Available in gray, shown, or brown in four sizes, $17 to $122, from Rikumo. An additional, extra-large size, $441, is sold as a throw blanket.

Above: The Yoshi Linen Border Towel feature a smooth cotton side and a looped terry side; available in three sizes: guest towel, $13; face towel, $25; and bath towel (24 inches by 51 inches), $61, from Rikumo. Made of famously light and absorbent cotton grown largely pesticide-free in Imabari, Japan, Yoshi towels are available in a multitude of color blocks and stripes.

Above: Kontex’s Flax Line Organics Bath Towel in navy and ivory. Its stripes are woven in a chevron pattern; one side of the towel is smooth cotton, the other looped terry. The bath towel is 24 inches by 49 inches; $72 from Steven Alan. Also available in additional colors and sizes from Lekker Home and Greenhouse.

Above: The Nuno towel by Kontex has a gauzy weave and can be used in both kitchen and bathroom. It comes in three long and narrow sizes (the largest is 23.75 inches by 53 inches); $23 to $86 from Rikumo.